Aurora
by Lady Haruno
Summary: Sakura had, over the years learned that love enables one to forgive the mistakes of others. But, when she is suddenly thrown into the past, where the Kyuubi attack is yet to occur, she is caught in dilemma. Join her, as she struggles to find the line between right and wrong and the courage to change Konoha's dark past.
1. The Mission

**A New Beginning**

The war was finally over. But everything was unfortunately not back to normal. The village still stands. But it stands on the sacrifices of the many, who had given their lives hoping that it would help in building a better tomorrow for their loved ones, the people they cared for, the people for whom they fought, bled, murdered and finally gave their lives.

But was it enough? Was the victory any meaningful?

As she walked through the streets of Konoha, Sakura couldn't help but wonder how much the place had changed. How much the war had changed her? Hell, how much it had changed the knuckleheaded ninja?

She thought of the times when people laughed at Naruto's rants on becoming the Hokage. But after the war, all of that was changing, faster than ever before. It all started with chuunin exams long back, when the dead last, the one person no one even expected to be worthy of a genin, defeated the might Hyuuga Neji, and proved to the world that he was not to be looked down.

Naruto was finally preparing to be the 7th Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. He was currently in training under the 6th Hokage, none other than her own former sensei, Hatake Kakashi. Sakura was musing over how her perception of the people around her had changed so much. The memories of the times when she wondered whether the man, her ex-sensei was capable of anything other than reading Icha Icha, or torturing them came back to her. But now he was a source of comfort for her, was somewhat like a parent figure for her.

Thinking of that brought up memories of her shishou. Lady Tsunade, the person who made her who she was, the person who took the weak willed genin and made wonderful frontline medic out of her.

No, she wouldn't cry. She had already shed too much tears over this. Besides, there were other matters to attend to. Her shishou would have never wanted her to mourn over her death.

Sakura was too much caught up in her own thoughts to notice that she had bumped into someone.

"Ouch! How troublesome. Watch where you're going Sakura." The Nara looked at her with the usual lazy look on his face and with a cigeratte hanging from his mouth.

"Sorry Shika. Just got caught up in some inner turmoil." Sakura replied with small smile tugging at her lips.

She knew how much Shikamaru hated being addresses as Shika. Ino was the first one to come up with the nick name, using it to irritate him when she wanted something from him.

Shikamaru muttered something which sounded close to _troublesome women_ and walked away. Sakura thought of how each day Shikamaru was growing up more and more to resemble their sensei Asuma Sarutobi. Asuma Sensei, Neji, Lee, the Third, all those people..

The smile that was tugging at her lips faded away. It was replaced by a resolute determination. The time has come for the village to be led by the next generation of shinobi – it was their time. And this time, she will stand beside them, they will stand together and make sure that the sacrifices of these people will never be in vain.

Sakura's feet carried her to the Memorial. No, she was not there to cry. She was not there to mourn the past. She was there to tell _them_ , that the village was rebuilding, and that maybe not now, but in a few years, the people of Konoha would forget the past, the war, their losses, and streets will soon fill up will laughter and life. She would stand by the Hokage's side and make sure of it.

"Good Morning, Sakura." She heard the very familiar voice from behind.

"Kakashi sensei, I didn't knew you still came here!" Sakura replied.

Sometimes she wondered how her sensei was able survive through everything. How this man was still standing after finding his team mate presumed dead for years, in a battlefield, fighting against him, bringing him back to his senses, only to lose him again. Sakura knew very less of Kakashi's past, but from what she has heard and observed this ex-ANBU had lost everyone precious to him at a very young age. Now, they, Team 7, were the closest he had to a family. She had often considered asking him about his family, but decided against it, thinking that it might bring up past demons.

"Sometimes I wonder, if I had made some different choices in my life, may be all this would've never happened." Kakashi mused out aloud with a distant look in his eyes.

She didn't know anything about his past to comprehend the meaning in his words. But she knew she had to somehow make him feel a bit better.

"Ne Kaka-sensei, we all make choices, sometimes they are not all right. But hey, we are human. We should be given the right to make mistakes." Sakura looked up at him to see if her words might may a difference.

"How exactly can we define something as _right,_ Sakura." Kakashi left the bunch of Daffodils at what Sakura presumed as Obito's grave, waved at her and left.

Sakura thought of what Kakashi had just said. Yes, the line that separated the two was very blurred and she wondered if there is any such line at all.

 _Flashback_

 _"Do you think what he did is right, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked her with a troubled look on his face._

 _They were lying on the training ground after a good sparring session._

 _"Do you think what Itachi did was right?" He asked again, this time a bit more loudly._

 _"I don't know Naruto. I don't know. I never thought there'll come a time when I would actually feel bad for Uchiha Itachi. But after all that, and then remaining as spy for Konoha, even when the leaf shinobi despised him, even when his own brother looked upon him with pure hatred, it would have been very difficult. I don't think that man deserved it all." Sakura replied, staring at the night sky. It was cloudy. The stars hid behind the clouds._

 _"People do strange things in the name of love and loyalty. Ne, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked._

 _"Yea. He was loyal to Konoha without a fault and he loved Sasuke to his death." Sakura said and turned to look at Naruto who was lying on the grass beside her._

 _He had an even more troubled and distant look on his face now._

 _"Do you think what Sasuke did is right?" Naruto asked._

 _But she could see that he didn't have the courage to face her. He was still staring up at the starless night sky. Somehow, she knew he wanted her to say yes, to tell him that what his best friend did is right, that he was right in defecting his own village, going after power, then turning against his own village. Maybe he hoped that she would be able to come up with some justification for Sasuke's actions._

 _But no, she didn't have any justification for Sasuke. She was long over the stage of justifying everything that Sasuke did, of idolizing Sasuke._

 _"We should all be allowed to make mistakes, Naruto. We should also be able to forgive for the mistakes of our loved ones. Love enables us to do great things like that." She replied and poked his shoulders with her fingers._

 _"Will team 7 be ever back to how it was Sakura-chan? Will we ever get_ _ **our**_ _teme back?" Naruto was now looking at her, expecting an answer from her._

 _"No promises Naruto. We can try. Maybe Sasuke will just come back to us, maybe he just need some sometime on his own in the Uchiha Compound." Sakura replied._

 _He remained silent for some time. Then, she saw a change of mood in his eyes. A new determination in his eyes._

 _"Or else, I'll drag down his sorry ass to this training ground, fight him and prove it to him that he belongs with us, he belongs in team 7." Naruto declared with a new confidence in his voice._

 _Naruto will always be Naruto. And somehow it made her feel better._

 _End of flashback._

Sakura stayed at the memorial for a few more minutes and found her way back to her apartment. It was a new one, though not as good as the one she had before the war. She still had some fixing up to do, but left it for a later time. She had to go to the Hospital. Not the there were many injured now. She would soon be taking over the position as Head Medic and had lots of paperwork at the hospital. She wondered if Kakashi Sensei ever did his own paper work. She couldn't image the man sitting in the Hokage tower and doing all the paperwork.

She heard a knock on her door. Well, here goes the idea of completing the paperwork. She was summoned at the Hokage Tower.

"Ne, Kaka-sensei, why did you call me?" Sakura asked Kakashi who was now seated in the Hokage's office with the cloak hanging over his shoulder.

It made him look old. She wondered. He hadn't cared to wear the hat. That would just hide the only visible part of his face, which was his right eye. Sakura couldn't help but smile.

"May I ask why my favourite student is laughing at me?" Kakashi looked up at Sakura from the file which he appeared to be reading when she came in.

"I am still getting used to seeing you in the robe. It makes you look old, sensei." Sakura replied, with a bit of malice in her voice.

"Aw, come on Sakura-chan, but you know I'm only 29." Kakashi replied trying to sound as harmless as possible. She wondered if he was actually pouting under his mask. His only visible eye crinkled.

"Right. You were 29 six years ago Kaka-sensei." Sakura wasn't ready to give it up that easily.

"Ah. Do I really look that old? Maybe I should try some age-control technique like Tsunade-sama." Kakashi mused.

"We can't even see your face sensei. So you'd be simply wasting you chakra with that jutsu. Now if you would actually take of that mask..."

"Aren't you the curious little genin today? Well then I called you here to assign you a solo mission. It's a simple patrol and report mission. I'm sending you out as your skills to detect genjutsu might come in very useful." Kakashi handed over the mission scroll to Sakura.

She took the scroll and went through it.

"So I am supposed to patrol the area and report if there are any **strange** occurances." Sakura was confused.

"What do you exactly want me to do, sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Well, there has been reports of strange sightings, of display weird colours in the night sky near the mentioned area. I want you to check it out. You are not supposed to engage in battle at any cost. You are to leave by tonight and return in two days." Kakashi replied.

"Hai sensei." Sakura bowed, and turned to leave.

"Be safe Sakura. Look underneath the underneath." She heard Kakashi's voice from behind.

"You know I always do sensei."

Sakura left to pack for her mission. It's been a long time since she had been out of Konoha. This should be interesting, she thought.


	2. The Realisation

**The Realisation**

Sakura left the Hokage tower and headed straight to her apartment to pack for the mission. On reaching her apartment, she wasn't surprised to find that there was someone inside already. And she knew it was her blond team mate. Every now and then Naruto would sleep on her couch, complaining that his apartment was not as cosy or tidy as hers'. But she knew it was because he felt lonely and she was fine with it.

"Hey Naruto, I'm leaving for a solo mission tonight." Sakura told him with excitement-filled voice.

"Sakura-chan! Why are you going on a solo mission? Why is Kakashi-sensei sending you alone? It could be dangerous Sakura-chan. Where is it?" She was felt a bit irritated that Naruto couldn't come to the fact that she could take care of her selves.

"Naruto, it's a patrol and report mission. Besides I can take care of myself." Sakura raised her voice just enough so that Naruto would get the irritation in her voice.

"Of course, Sakura-chan. You are one hell of a kunoichi. Be safe. Since you're leaving, maybe I should go and ask teme if I can spend the night there, ne Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked

"Good luck with that! And bye. See ya soon."

With that Sakura left her apartment with the backpack which she packed during her short conversation with Naruto. She didn't pack much anyway. It was going to be a short mission. She always had most of her medical supplies with her. So she just grabbed a change of cloth, her shuriken pouch and a few scrolls.

As she signed out at the main gate and jumped through the forest to her destination, about 4 hours North to the Valley of End, she couldn't help but wonder what would happen if/when Naruto goes to the Uchiha Compound.

 _Flashback_

 _"Ne teme, Team 7 is back again." Naruto gleamed happily at Sasuke._

 _Sakura stared at Sasuke from the corner of her eyes. She couldn't face him. She didn't know what he would say, how he would react. It like she didn't know the Sasuke standing in front of her. Of course, she never knew Sasuke Uchiha, to start with._

 _"Team 7 is no more Naruto. I do not wish to be a part of any team. Do not seek me out. I would like to spend the rest of my life in solitude in the Uchiha Compound. May be one day I could forgive myself for all I've done."_

 _Well, that was not as bad as she thought._

 _With that Sasuke disappeared in a swirl of dead leaves._

 _Naruto stared at the place where Sasuke had just disappeared._

 _Her heart felt heavy. She didn't like seeing that pained expression on Naruto's face or that distant look in his eyes._

 _'But we've forgave you Sasuke. How long will it take you to forgive yourself, and realise that by running away you hurting us, all over again!'_

 _End of Flashback._

Three hours went by. She was close to her destination. Luckily for her she hadn't yet observed anything 'unnatural.'

Maybe she should take rest for a few minutes. Sakura perched on the branch of an unnaturally tall tree in the vicinity. It gave her a good view of the nearby areas. It was full moon today. The forest was silent, save for an occasional howling of a distant pack of wolves, or the hooting of owls. A clearing to the North caught her eyes. It looked a bit fresh, maybe a week old. Someone was here before, but she knew it was not part of a conventional trade route.

She heard the sound of leaves moving, of something moving on the ground below her.

Sakura took a kunai from her pouch, got ready for a fight. For all she knew, it could be a harmless little rat. But still one can never be too careful.

But no, it was definitely not a little rat. But whether it was harmless or not Sakura couldn't decide at the moment. Whatever she saw, Sakura was pretty sure she had never seen anything like that before in her life.

A silver deer; No, it was not exactly silver; it looked like it was made of chakra, glowing in the dark. It stood with the light coming from its body forming a circle of light in the darkness of the night. The undergrowth hid its face from Sakura's view. Sakura shifted her position, to get a better view. The branch she was sitting on cracked just a bit. But the sound was enough to alert her little visitor.

It turned in the direction of the sound. Sakura was quick to take notice of the fact that its hazel eyes were eerily human. Before she could take in any more details of the strange deer, it fled. Her instinct told her to chase it, but logic told her to flee to the Hokage tower and report what she witnessed. It was never good to go up against the unknown.

But 'fuck logic'. She ran after the deer. The light coming out from its skin was a dead giveaway. But still found it extremely difficult to keep up with its speed.

The undergrowth was starting to become thicker. Sakura found it extremely difficult and painful to keep up, with thrones and bushes reaching up to her waist.

It was slowing down, and Sakura could see a cave ahead. The deer was running into the cave. No, she was definitely not going into a cave. It could be a trap, it must be trap. But before the deer went in, it turned and gazed at her; like it was beckoning her to follow. Or maybe it was her just her crazy imagination.

Should she go inside? Her instincts were telling her to go, it was not warning her of danger. Certainly her instincts had always led her to the strangest of places. It was her instinct that told her that Sasuke would leave that day.

Somehow, even without her consent, her feet carried her towards the cave. She should go in. She gripped the kunai in her hands tightly. Carefully stepped into the cave. It was dark inside, too dark that she wondered where the beautiful creature fled to. Something was not quite right. The ground beneath her was not steady. Something was shifting below her.

In a second, the entire cave started coming down. Sakura was a quick thinker. In times like these she knew she was not supposed to panic. She held her hands above her head and tried to build up a chakra shield above her head. Sudden pain erupted through her body. Like something was stretching and pulling every part of her body. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to maintain the chakra shield.

Suddenly she could no longer hear the sound of the rubbles falling down. The pain seems to have reduced. She opened her eyes slowly. Bright light; It was in contrast to the dark cave. It took her some time to adjust to the light. When she did open her eyes, she was surprised to find herself in an alley.

She was on guard. She slowly walked out of the alley. She found herself in a busy street.

'Kai!' , she whispered.

Nope. It was not a genjutsu. Then! What could it be? It could be a transportation jutsu. By why would someone do like that?

First, she had to find out where she was. She kept walking and looking around for any signs that would tell her where she was. It was definitely a trade centre. There were all kinds of goods on sale. From fabric, to fruits, to a variety of weapons, some of which looked a bit too out of fashion to her.

She went to a fabric store nearby, seeing as how eager the salesman was to greet her.

"What can I do for the beautiful young lady over here? Come in. We have the most precious silk from over all the 5 great nations. Look over here, this red silk would go great with your pretty pink tresses." The man exclaimed at her, surely expecting her to buy something from his store.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I came to ask to for something else. I'm here for the first time, and it seems I got lost. Would you mind helping me out a bit?" Sakura asked and put forth her most innocent smile.

"Young lady, don't be surprised. The streets of the Sarraiyu are a puzzle for most of the newcomers. Where do you wish to go to?" The man asked definitely sounding happy to help.

There was a reason why Sakura was called a bookworm during her academy days. She had read hundreds of books from the library on geography, history, art and literature. She also had the ability to retain most of what she read. So, when the man told her she was in Sarraiyu, she was quick to recall that it was the trade capital of the Fire Country. She also knew that there had to a nearby port here, from where she could catch a ship to port Tarfa, from where she could easily find her way to Konoha.

"Um, could you please tell me how to reach the nearest port. I have an urgent need to reach Tarfa." Sakura replied.

"Well, you're lucky it's only a few minutes from here. Take the first left, then take the second right and turn left from there when you see a red flagpole. After that..." The man was cut off before he could finish.

"Would you mind repeating the first part. I mean, it's a bit too confusing." Sakura gave him a toothy grin.

"Or maybe I can just give you a map." The man took out a map from his drawer and handed it over to her.

Sakura was extremely grateful to this man.

When he saw her searching her pouch for money, he quickly added "It's for free the pretty lady. Young ladies like you shouldn't get lost!" He said and Sakura got the implication in his words.

"Thank you so much sir." Sakura replied. Anyway she had very less money with her as she was not expecting to get lost in Sarraiyu of all places.

"Don't thank me young lady. Just buy something from here when you come the next time. Have a happy journey." The man waved at her as she started walking in the direction he pointed.

Sakura opened the map. She was a bit surprised. The trade routes linking the place seemed to be very few. She was expecting the place to be a bit more developed, being the trade capital and all.

' _As per data collected till January, 1567'_ was written below the map.

What the hell, how could that man possibly give her a map that was 22 years old. She would just have to ask someone else for help.

"Excuse me sir, could you please tell me how to reach the closest port?" She asked another shopkeeper.

"Young Lady, you seem to have a map with you, why would you ask me then?" The man asked with a bit of irritation in this voice.

"Oh, sorry, it is a really old map." Sakura looked up at him apologetically and turned the map towards him so that he could see that it was pretty old and useless.

"It clearly seems new enough to me, being updated 2 months ago." The man replied, this time clearly irritated.

It was then that Sakura noticed the Calender hanging inside the shop.

It was showing _'March, 1567'!_

No, how could that be possible. She quickly turned to the next shop.

"Excuse me, could you please tell me the date?" She asked.

"Well its _March 2_ _nd_ _,_ young woman." The man replied.

"The year please?" She knew how ridiculous it must've sounded but she just had to make sure that the man in the other shop was completely insane.

The man looked at her, clearly a bit too surprised.

" _1567,_ Why young women, have you lost your mind?" The man asked her.

Sakura felt like the world around her was spinning. No, she couldn't panic now. This has to be some kind of really advanced genjutsu, intrinsically woven with many layers. It has to be. Otherwise, how could it be...

 _'Kai'_ , Sakura whispered again, this time sending more chakra to her brain, expecting the world to change around her and show her the genjustsu master.


	3. The Spring Festival

Chapter 3

 **The Spring Festival**

 _'Kai', Sakura whispered again, this time sending more chakra to her brain, expecting the world to change around her and show her the genjustsu master._

But nothing around her changed. The world didn't fall apart around her. But she noticed a few passers by sending suspicious glares her way. Of course, she was still wearing her Konoha headband and her ninja gear. She took them off and kept them in her backpack.

Was she back in the past? Was it even possible?

No, she is not going to flood her mind with questions. She needed to sit down. She needed to relax. May be get some sleep. She had to find an inn first. Then she would sit and think; And sort out this entire mess.

She kept walking and soon came across what looked like an inn. It has been almost 2 hours since her arrival to this weird place, wherever/whenever it is.

"I would like to have a single room for a day." Sakura said to the man waiting at the inn counter.

"It would be a ryo, miss." The man replied.

Well that came as a surprise to her. She'll hardly have any more money left if she gives away a ryo.

"Oh, I don't have that much. Are there any cheaper rooms?" Sakura asked, expecting a positive reply from the man.

"Sorry miss, but we don't have anything else." The man replied with a disinterested look on his face.

Sakura walked out. That's when she noticed a restaurant opposite the inn. May be she can spend some time there and get something to eat as well.

She went to the restaurant, which was fairly crowded, but was happy she could find a vacant table in the corner. She sat there, waiting for the maid.

"... you're right. There is war brewing up and I don't think the Fire country would stand a chance with such less manpower."

She overheard the conversation from the nearby table. She stared at the people from the corner of her eye. Some men in their mid-forties.

"With that old man leading Konoha, do you think Fire Country would even stand a chance?"

Was she really in the past? Could it be possible that this man is referring to the Third Hokage?

"What would you like to have, miss?" Sakura was thrown out of her reverie by the waitress.

"One Coffee, please." Sakura said. And the waitress went away.

Her coffee came very soon. She had to somehow confirm whether she was in the past. She drank her coffee slowly, trying to bring up a plan in her mind. After that she went to the counter to pay the bill.

Maybe she can strike up a conversation with this man.

"Do you know when the next ship to Tarfa would leave?" She asked.

"Hm. That would be day after tomorrow. From port 3." The man replied.

"Oh. Aren't there any ships before that? I have some urgent business in Tarfa."

"No, very few ships leave for Tarfa these days. It's quite dangerous, with fights going on at the borders. What business would a young lady like you have in Tarfa at a dangerous time like this?" The man eyed her, clearly curious.

"We have a family reunion. I've never really been to this part of Fire Country, specially to Tarfa, so close to Konoha. Does these fights have anything to do with those shinobi villages?" Sakura asked, sounding as curious as a 3 year old child.

She had to get as much as possible out of this man.

"Well, it has everything to do with those shinobi villages. See, these fights, if they go on like this would soon turn into a war. And we'll be on the losing side of the war." The man explained.

"But, I've always heard that Konoha is a very strong shinobi village. Isn't it so? It's said that they have a very strong leader." Sakura shot again.

"Their current Hokage is some old man, Sarutobi Hiruzen. Well, people say that Konoha doesn't have enough manpower to fight Iwa, if a war does break out."

Right on target. So she is really in the past, the time even before the Third Shinobi War.

She will have to decode the jutsu that caused the time travelling and then reverse it. May be it had something to do with that place, that cave. And she needed help, from some skilled ninja. But in this time of war, who would believe her if she said that she was from the past? Even if someone did believe, wouldn't they try to take advantage of her knowledge of the future?

The best option for now was to remain undercover as civilian so that she wouldn't get caught up in the war. But she needed money for food, for civilian clothes and most of all to travel to Konoha, as a civilian.

She'll work in one of the shops here for a few weeks, then she could get enough money and time to find a way to reverse the jutsu. Yes, that sounded like a good plan to her.

The night was creeping in and she needed a place to stay. She found an inn and booked a room for the night, and that nearly emptied her pockets. Tomorrow, she'll go looking for small jobs. It's going to be big day. And with that she slept.

It's been 5 days since Sakura was thrown into Sarraiyu. A shopkeeper at a tailoring shop was kind enough to offer her a job. With her chakra enhanced skills, Sakura was able to finish most of the work before time, and so she got a decent pay.

"...Kannabi bridge? That is not even an option, it is too dangerous."

"But we don't have another route..."

 _Kannabi Bridge._

She had heard about it somewhere. Yes, of course, it was the destruction of Kannabi Bridge, which led to Konoha's victory in the war. Is that all she knew about the bridge? No, there was something more. She couldn't seem to bring it into her brain. But she knew there was more to Kannabi Bridge than that.

"Sakura, I'll be closing early today. Going for the festival; aren't you coming?" The kind lady, her shopkeeper asked.

"Well, I haven't decided yet Hikari-san. But anyway I'll finish the work in few minutes and leave."

 _Flashback_

 _"Kaka-sensei, aren't you coming for the festival. Come on, everyone's celebrating." Sakura beamed at her sensei and gave him her best smile._

 _"I'm not feeling like celebrating, Sakura." He replied, with a detached voice._

 _She knew he wanted her to go away, but she also knew that he needed her presence now. She went and sat beside him._

 _"Demons of the past catching up, ne?" She asked, but quickly realised how stupid she was to bring up the topic._

 _"I'm sorry sensei, I didn't mean to..."_

 _"It's alright Sakura." He didn't let her finish._

 _They sat in silence, staring up at the night sky. It was full of stars. They were all celebrating the beginning of spring, the festival of Cherry Blossoms. It was the tradition of the Fire Country to celebrate the festival as soon as the Cherry Blossom trees in the Daiymo's garden start to bloom. Most of their Cherry trees were also starting to bloom, covering the ground below them with pink petals._

 _"The Festival is late this time. 22 years back, on this day I was promoted as a jounin." Kakashi said, still staring up at the sky._

 _"Then, it should be an occasion to celebrate, Kaka-sensei"_

 _"I was given the first mission, the same day; to lead my team to the Kannabi Bridge and to destroy it. That's where I lost to Obito for the first time in my life. And that's also where I lost Obito..." Sakura wondered if Kakashi's voiced cracked just a bit._

 _She knew Obito. She also knew that Kakashi got his Sharingan from Obito. But she didn't know what happened at the bridge. But she could see that whatever happened there caused too much pain for him. She wanted to ease his pain. She wanted him to smile, to celebrate the festival with them._

 _She didn't ask anything more. She kept her hand on his shoulder to let him know that she was there for him._

 _They sat like that for a few more hours in silence. The fireworks went off._

 _End of flashback_

The fireworks went off. Sakura knew the festival was early this time. In two weeks, Kakashi would be promoted Jounin. He would get his first mission as a jounin- the mission which caused him so much pain.

What should she do? What was the right thing to do? Was there any such thing as right?

She wanted to take away his pain. She wanted to see him smile, see him celebrate the Spring Festival with them.

Maybe there was a reason she was here. May be she was supposed to be here. She should do something, something for Kakashi sensei.

She should leave for Konoha soon. She packed everything. She said her goodbyes and left. A ship will be leaving for Tarfa tonight. It will reach in five days. Then, five more days from Tarfa to the borders of Konoha.

It was her fourth day on board. She still hadn't come up with a plan on how to save Obito. She had no idea of what happened during the mission, so she'll be facing the unknown.

The ship was delayed by a day. On reaching Tarfa, Sakura immediately went to purchase supplies. She needed to hide her identity at all costs. Maintaining a henge, would use up her chakra.

The journey to the borders of Konoha was taking her more time than she expected, with the constant threat of fights delaying the ferryboats. She was out of civilian area of the Fire Country. She was now nearing the forests, the main areas of fight. But she had only 2 more days.

There was no other option. She should directly head towards the Kannabi Bridge. Otherwise she won't make it in time to save Obito. She knew saving Obito will have other consequences, but she wouldn't worry about it now.


	4. Kannabi Bridge

**Kannabi Bridge**

Sakura fled through the forest. She could sense many chakra signatures in the forest. The war was raging on. She suppressed her chakra to her best. She knew she could be detected by a skilled shinobi, but this was enough for now. The day was coming to an end, and she knew the journey would be getting more difficult as she was approaching the borders, where she knew serious fights would be going on.

Soon after leaving the civilian populated area, Sakura had changed into a black full sleeve top reaching upto her mid-thigh and black pants. A hooded cloak hid her conspicuous pink hair. She also had a mask covering her lips and nose and only her eyes were visible. She wanted to hide her appearance even though she knew no one would recognise her.

As she fled through the forest, Sakura expanded her senses in all directions to search for Kakashi's chakra signature. And within a few hours Sakura was able to detect Kakashi a few kilometres ahead.

She stopped. She had no idea of what to do or how to proceed. Will she be able to make everything right? Or will she just make a huge mess out of this? Should she just run away?

No. She wouldn't. This time she knew there was no Sasuke or Naruto or Kakashi to save her. She is given a chance to save them, to make things better for them. The will of fire burns inside her also. And she won't give up, as this is her only chance to make a huge difference.

She started to move cautiously towards the area where she had detected Kakashi's presence.

'BOOM!'

She saw smoke rising ahead. She increased her pace. Something's happening. May be they encountered enemy nin already. She could sense 4 other chakra signature's alongside Kakashi's. Which meant that the team is already engaging the enemy nin. She hid her signature as good as she could. Kakashi had taught her well in that. Being a medical nin meant that she needed to keep herself safe if she wanted to be of any use to her team.

She could sense the fight ahead. But suddenly, she could sense only 2 chakra signatures ahead.

'What?!'

Even if the enemy retreated, why is there only two? Could it mean that Obito's already... !

She went closer.

"Obito! Don't go after them." Was it Kakashi's voice?

"What?! Do you realise what you just said." She heard another male voice, which she assumed to be Obito's. So, the third member went missing, but she couldn't recall who it was.

"Yeah. The two of us will continue this mission." No, would Kakashi ever say like that? Her Kaka-sensei would never leave a comrade behind!

"And Rin? What about Rin?!" Obito shouted back.

Sakura could sense the anger rising in the boy's voice. It would do them no good to fight like this in the middle of enemy territory.

"Rin comes later. The enemy wants to find out what we're up to. They won't kill her right away. And luckily Rin is a medical ninja. So, even if she ends up a prisoner of war, she'll probably be treated well, on the condition that she tends to the wounded on their side. The problem is if the enemy learns about our strategy. If they obtain that information, no doubt they'll increase the security near the bridge. That will make our mission much more difficult."

How could Kakashi be so cold? What had happened to him that could make him react like this? Was this the same Kakashi who always told her that comrades came before any mission?!

"Your assumptions' on Rin's safety are all baseless. Right now, saving Rin takes priority over the mission!" Obito exclaimed.

"A ninja must sacrifice a comrade in order to carry out a mission. That is the rule. If we fail in this mission, it is possible that the war will be prolonged and many more lives will be sacrificed." Kakashi's voice was eerily calm and cold.

"Those are just assumptions, you're willing to simply abandon a comrade, who's been through life and death with you?! When we were wounded, Rin saved our lives with her Medical Ninjutsu. If she hadn't been there, we'd both be dead by now!"

"That was Rin's duty."

Kakashi got hit in the face by an angry Obito. Should she interfere? No, maybe Obito can beat some sense into this Kakashi.

"I don't like you after all!" Obito exclaimed.

"That's why we have the rule that states that the members must obey the team Captain. Obito, you're not strong, that's why I was made the Captain."

"Then why won't you try to save Rin?! As a captain, you're strong. Strong enough to save your comrades, right?!"

"If you give into your emotions even for a moment, and fail you mission, you'll regret it later. That is why our code of conduct forbids any emotional feelings. You should know that. Emotions are useless. They'll only get in the way."

"Are you serious? Do you really believe all that?!"

"Yeah, I do."

Sakura's eyes' widened. How could it be... ?

"Forget it. You and I have been like oil and water from the beginning. I'm going to rescue Rin."

Obito started walking away. No, if the team splits then..

Oh no.. Maybe that's how Obito got hurt. She'll have to follow him and help him. Kakashi could take care of himself from the looks of it.

"You don't understand what happens if you break the rules." Kakashi warned Obito.

"I believe the White Fang was a true hero. Sure in the world of ninja, those who break the rules are regarded as scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum! I'm gonna be trash anyway. So, I choose to break the rules. And if that doesn't make me a true ninja, then I'll crush this so called ninja!"

The White Fang?! Kakashi's father! Sakura clenched her fists. Sensei, is this how you learned all that?

They started walking in opposite directions. Sakura knew what she should do. She was not supposed to go and beat some sense into Kakashi. She should follow Obito and make sure that Rin is rescued. That way Kakashi will not end up regretting his past. That way Kakashi will not end up as lonely as he was in her timeline.

Sakura heard another explosion, from a distance. No, that was not her mission. Her mission is to save Rin. She cannot save everyone.

Sakura hoped Obito knew where he was going, because she had no idea where Rin would be. She didn't have the girl's chakra signature to locate her. Obito led her to a cave. Sakura quickly sensed that there were three people inside. The weakest chakra signature must belong to Rin.

She sensed presence beside Obito. Now is the chance for her to go inside and save Rin. The enemy has not detected her presence yet. Sakura quickly went inside, making sure that she isn't spotted by the Iwa nin outside.

She shouldn't use her superhuman strength here. The walls of the cave were too weak. They couldn't risk the walls falling over them. She started casting a genjutsu.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The enemy nin was quite surprised. He turned around to see Kakashi standing behind him.

Through the illusion she cast Sakura made her way to Rin. She started untying the ropes.

Rin was startled.

"What? Who are you? Let me go. Kakashi, help!" She exclaimed.

Sakura panicked. The man was behind her. She quickly dodged, throwing Rin to the opposite side so that she wouldn't get hurt.

To say Rin was surprised was an understatement. Who was this cloaked figure. No headband? Could it be an enemy nin.? But, she felt that whoever it was, they were trying to help her. Rin started to untie her ropes which were a bit loosened by the black figure. Obito was outside, fighting the other nin, she had to help him. Rin started to sprint towards the cave exit.

"Not so fast!"

Suddenly, the man was in front of her. She took out her kunai and slashed at him, but she missed and got kicked to the opposite side. But before she hit the cave wall, she was caught by the mysterious figure.

"Be careful, the walls are weak!" She heard the voice. It was a smooth female voice. Who could it be? Is it someone sent by Minato-sensei? She couldn't see her face. It was covered upto her nose. But her eyes, there were emerald green. She was sure she had never seen this woman before.

"Die!" The man threw a kunai at them.

"NO! It has an exploding tag!" Rin started running towards the exit. She wouldn't make it. Suddenly she felt herself being covered by that woman. Green chakra enveloped them. She knew it was some kind of medical chakra. But suddenly she saw Obito running into the collapsing cave.

"RIN! NO!"

Everything was coming down. Sakura had no time to get to Obito. But Rin, she would be safe.

Rin slowly opened her eyes. She felt the woman taking her hands off her. She was now standing in the middle of the rubble. Not even a single piece of rubble had fallen over her.

But the happiness disappeared soon enough.

"OBITO!" She exclaimed.

They both jumped out of the rubble to find Obito under huge rubble. Only his left hand and head outside.

Oh no!

Sakura rushed towards him. She could remove this rock. She must.

"Rin, you're safe." Obito said with a grin on his face.

That's when she noticed it. His eyes were Sharingan Red. Tears started to form in her eyes.

"Rin, the enemy nin are close by, but they don't know that we made it out of the cave. I want you to keep watch as I try to remove this boulder from Obito. Understood?"

This mysterious woman, knew them? Rin couldn't protest. This woman was her only hope. She must trust her.

"Rin, who is she?" Obito was confused.

He could only watch in awe as the woman started lifting the boulder. Obito could feel the weight shifting from him. Suddenly, pain erupted from everywhere. He must've been numb till now. There was too much blood.

"Well, looks like the brats made it out alive. We'll just have to finish them off now itself." The two men appeared in front of them.

But before they could do anything, Sakura threw the boulder in her hands in their direction. The ground shattered. The Iwa nin were definitely not expecting such a move and ended up getting hit by the shattered pieces of earth.

"Rin, try and hold them off for a while." She obeyed. Got ready for fight. She never usually took the frontline for fights. As a medical nin, her duty was to tend to her wounded team mates and stay out the fight. But she had no choice here. Her medical knowledge was no use in healing such a huge wound.

Sakura pushed her medical chakra into Obito's body. She knew it was gonna hurt. But there was no time to take it slow. They boy fell unconscious. Her chakra started to sink into his wounds. Green met red. Skin started growing over the open flesh. She will not get time to heal the bone damage. She'll leave it for other medics. Rin wouldn't be able to hold them off for much longer.

Meanwhile...

Rin's face flashed through Kakashi's mind. She was always there behind them. Her smile, the way she would always step in between them when their fights started to get serious.

 _'The White Fang was a true hero.'_

 _'Those who abandon their team mates are worse than scum.'_

Kakashi stopped in his tracks. He turned around, and headed in the direction of the explosion.

 _'Rin, Obito, hold on for a little longer. I'm coming.'_


	5. Suspicions and Decisions

**Suspicions and Decisions**

 _Kakashi stopped in his tracks. He turned around, and headed in the direction of the explosion._

 _'Rin, Obito, hold on for a little longer. I'm coming.'_

The exploding tags did their job, but not as much as Rin expected. Rin took another set of kunai in her hand.

Sakura was not sure how much longer she would be able to keep up like this. The healing process was draining her chakra, but she had much to heal. Rin was doing a decent job of holding off the enemy.

"Rin, behind you!" Sakura exclaimed.

Rin dodged and threw another kunai which missed the target. But a shuriken came whizzing past her and hit the target. She turned around.

"Kakashi! You're alright!" The happiness was very clear in her voice.

Kakashi glanced around. His eyes stopped at Obito's unconscious form and the black figure leaning over him. He ran towards Obito.

"Kakashi stop! Don't attack. She's on our side." Rin shouted at him. He stopped. He eyed the mysterious figure suspiciously. It wore no headband. Besides, he had never seen those emerald green eyes anywhere in the village before. The figure was not paying any attention to his presence. Is she trying to heal Obito? He could see blood all over Obito's unconscious form. But he was breathing and that was a relief.

"How do you know it is no enemy, Rin?" Kakashi asked.

"She saved me from the collapsing cave." Rin answered.

But Kakashi was not convinced. For all he knew, this must be an enemy strategy to get them all.

Most of the serious wounds were almost healed. But Obito wouldn't wake up soon. Even if he does, he'll be in too much pain. That will prevent him from moving around. Sakura quickly sensed more approaching chakra signatures. About fifteen. Not good.

"More enemy nin are approaching, about fifteen." Sakura said.

Kakashi noticed her warning tone. Fifteen? They wouldn't be able to handle them. Not with a nearly exhausted Rin, an unconscious Obito and a suspicious woman who could be an enemy.

Before he could do anything, a kunai came to rest on a nearby tree. It exploded, but Kakashi had noticed the exploding tag a second before and took cover. Smoke filled the area.

He took out the present that Minato –sensei gave him. He aimed it at the nearby tree. In seconds, Minato sensei was beside him. He heard screams, but he couldn't see anything in the smoke.

Sakura quickly noted the new presence. Through the smoke she could make out yellow hair of the newly arrived ninja. Chakra signature was not familiar.

"Minato sensei?!" Sakura heard Rin's voice.

Oh no.. She couldn't stay here any longer. Sakura took a pack of painkillers and supplies which would be needed for Obito's further treatment, tossed it to Rin's side and transported to as far a location as possible. But her maximum was less than 3 kilometres.

She knew the Fourth Hokage would be able to handle everything. Why else would he be called Konoha's Yellow Flash.

Minato observed the situation around him. Fifteen men were in a formation around them. All his students were breathing. But he could smell blood. He sensed another chakra signature besides Obito. But it was not in any fighting stance. He took down all fifteen before the smoke cleared.

He felt that the 'other chakra' signature had disappeared as well. Transportation jutsu. He expanded his senses. Three kilmoetres north of their location and moving further away.

"Minato-sensei, Obito's unconscious." Minato noticed Obito's unconscious form.

"Will you be able to heal him?" He asked Rin, who was now kneeling beside Obito.

"Well, I think now there are only fractures, which will take time to heal. And it will be extremely painful once he wakes up." Rin said.

"You wouldn't have any painkillers, would you?" Kakashi asked Rin, even though he knew the standard medic kit would have only chakra replenishing pills and anti-bacterials.

"No. I don't have any of those." Rin's face fell.

She noticed the bag lying next to her. She opened it and found painkillers and bone supplement pills inside.

"Sensei, that woman, I think she left it here. It has painkillers and bone supplements. Should I take it." She asked.

"We'll discuss about that later. Now we need to move to a safer area. There's a chance that the comrades of those men might find us here." Minato told them.

He went and slowly lifted Obito in his hands and signalled his team to follow him. Minato had so many questions he wanted to ask them. But first he needed to make sure that they were safe. Kakashi was silent than ususal. He was not blaming Obito for falling unconscious. What could've happened to cause such a reaction?

Soon they found a cave, covered on all sides by thick branches and leaves.

"We'll stay here for some time. I'll keep first watch." He told his team.

He went inside and laid Obito down. Rin and Kakashi followed him. Now was not the time for him to question his team about the events. He'll let them rest. Anyway, he couldn't detect any danger around.

Minato sat near the cave entrance. After a few minutes Kakashi came and sat beside him.

"Sensei, I'm sorry for being such an idiot." Kakashi told him. Minato could sense the remorse in Kakashi's voice. He was definitely not expecting something like this from Kakashi.

"Those who break the rules are scum. But those who abandon their team mates are worse than scum. Obito made me realise that today. I'll try to be a better shinobi sensei." Kakashi told him.

Minato was more than surprised. Maybe now would be the time to hear Kakashi's side of the story.

"I'm happy that you could finally see it Kakashi. What happened today?" Minato asked.

"Well, we were ambushed by Iwa nin. They kidnapped Rin. I, being who I was, left to complete the mission, while Obito warned me that I would later regret it. But halfway through, I realised that I was making the wrong choice and I turned around in Obito's direction." Kakashi stopped.

"Who was there with you?" Minato was curious. One can never be too careful.

"I don't know sensei. She was there when I reached. I think she was healing Obito. Rin told me she was on our side. I saw only her eyes. They were emerald green. Do you know anyone with such eyes, sensei?" Kakashi looked at his sensei.

"I don't think I know anyone like that. What do you think about her?" Minato asked.

"Well, she was certainly not wearing any headband. She could be an enemy for all I know. She disappeared the second you came. Like she was afraid of you. That makes me suspicious." Kakashi finished.

"Hm. Kakashi, go and take care of Obito. Tell Rin to come over here." Minato wanted to hear Rin's part of the story. She would know more about this mysterious figure.

"Minato sensei, why did you call me?" Rin came and stood behind him. He motioned her to sit beside him.

"What happened after you got kidnapped?" Minato asked her.

"They took me into a cave. They wanted to know what my team was upto..."

And like that Rin narrated the entire incident to her sensei, not missing even a single detail. She told her how the mysterious woman lifted the huge boulder from Obito and threw it at the Iwa nin. On how she was asked to keep watch while this woman healed Obito.

"Should I give those painkillers to Obito, sensei?" Rin asked him.

"Did you check them for any kind of poison?" Minato asked her.

"No. They are the same kind of painkillers available in Konoha. I double checked." Rin told him.

"Then, give it." Minato told her. She went back inside.

Minato was a really wise and observant man. The moment he stepped into the area, he had noticed the unknown chakra signature besides Obito. He had memorised it then itself. But he noted that this chakra signature was not emitting any killing intend.

He also noticed her sudden disappearance on his arrival. But he had his hands full. He didn't get the chance to keep a seal on her. Too bad!

But Minato was also a patient man. He knew that whoever it was, they'd comeback. Because she hadn't seen the last of what she intended to do. Whether it was to collect information or to eliminate his team, or very less likely to help his team. When shinobi who wore the leaf headband were turning against the leaf, he was not going to trust someone who wore no headband.

Meanwhile...

Sakura fled, as far as she could from Minato's presence. Why? Why was she running away? The sheer idea of being in the Fourth Hokage's presence scared her. The idea of seeing Naruto's father alive and well maybe made her realise that there is much more she could do for her friends. May she shouldn't be trying to find her way back. Maybe the gods were giving her a chance to fix things. She could take that opportunity and make life a bit more bearable for her friends. How could she go back and tell Naruto that she saw his father alive and well? Wouldn't Naruto ask her why she couldn't save his father?

But she felt alone here. She was alone. There was no Naruto to drag her to get Ramen. There was no Kakashi to come and ruffle her hair. Maybe she can suffer a little loneliness if that meant her friends would be getting a better life.

Maybe she could stay here for a little longer to make sure that Minato's team makes it alive out of the war. Yes, she could do that. She would make sure of it.

She assumed that the team would now be heading towards the Kannabi bridge. The mission should be successful. It was successful in her timeline. But she didn't know if that's where Obito got killed.

There was no way she'd be trusted by Minato or Kakashi. So she'll have to stay on the sidelines, and make sure that she won't be noticed unless absolutely necessary.


	6. Obito Again!

**Obito Again?!**

The Third Shinobi war was finally over. Sakura didn't interact with Minato's team after her last encounter. The team had managed themselves very well. But, with Obito being alive and well and still in leaf, Sakura was now at a loss for what would happen next. The next big thing was the Kyuubi attack. She had no idea how that would be possible without Obito for Madara's help.

Sakura had to somehow find a way to be a Konoha ninja, to get to know what's happening inside. So that she can make her moves appropriately. She would also need to find a way back to her own timeline. She wondered if that even existed, as she had made such a huge change in this timeline.

After weeks and weeks of planning and deliberations, Sakura finally found a way to infiltrate Konoha.

' _Infiltrate Konoha, ha!'_ She'd not even in the wildest of her dreams thought she'd have to do this.

Sakura over the years had grown to like her pink hair. So, it was pretty difficult for her to imagine herself with another hair colour. But she couldn't keep pink hair. There's a chance that Team Minato might have seen her hair before.

' _Should I make it black? Maybe not. I might be mistaken for a freaking Uchicha! Maybe red?! Nope, that'll be weird.'_

She finally decided on faded purple. And chose deep brown lens to hide her emerald green eyes.

The day was finally here. Sakura was dressed in a black skirt that reached to her knees, black boots and a red tank top. Her pale purple hair was tied into a high ponytail. A few strands of purple framed her face.

Only an hour more and she'll reach the gates of Konoha. Sakura went through her backpack again. She was supposedly the daughter of a couple who were killed during the Third Shinobi war. She is now 'Sasaki Hana', 18 years old. The only remaining Sasaki. This, she was sure of as her mother would often tell her about 'Sasaki Ichigo', her neighbour who was killed during the Third Shinobi war. Since, they were a civilian family, Sakura knew the Hokage didn't know much about them and that her story would sound believable.

"Identify yourselves." The two chunin guarding the entrance were staring at her.

"Sasaki Hana. I'm here in the village for the first time." Sakura said, trying to sound as believable as possible.

"You'll have to go and see the Hokage first. Newcomers are not allowed inside the village without Hokage's consent."

Of course Sakura knew that. But she was not at all looking forward to it. Sarutobi Hiruzen was an extremely intelligent man. Even a slight mistake and he'll have her head.

The chunin accompanied her to the Hokage Tower. As she walked through the village, Sakura noticed that village was entirely different from the Konoha she grew up in. The people seemed more happy. Maybe because the war was finally over. Kids were running through the streets. They soon reached the Hokage the tower.

To say that Sakura was tensed would be an understatement. Adrenaline was rushing through her system. She'll have to calm down or the Hokage would get suspicious. The door opened before her. Sakura couldn't help but smile when she saw the Third Hokage alive and well. As usual, he was smoking his pipe. His hat was resting on the table.

"Hokage-sama." Sakura bowed.

"You're new here. May I know who you're and the purpose of you visit?" The Hokage eyed her, from head to toe.

"I'm Sasaki Hana. My parents were residents of this village. I am planning to move into their house." Sakura repeated the same words which she had repeated almost a hundred times in her mind.

"Where are your parents now?" Sarutobi asked.

"They... were killed during the war." Sakura said. She thought of her real parents. They were also killed during the war; during the Fourth Shinobi war.

Sarutobi noticed the flash of pain in her eyes.

"I'm sorry for your loss. Do you have any ninja skills?" Sarutobi asked. He had to be sure she was not a threat.

"I am not a trained shinobi, Hokage-sama. But I know a bit of medical ninjutsu, passed down from my grandmother." Sakura replied, hoping that she had not caused any suspicions by that. She had to somehow get in touch with the ninja of the village.

Sarutobi raised his eyebrows.

"Very well then. If you wish to practise medicalninjutsu, you'll have to pass an exam. After that you can work in the hospital. But it's your wish." Sarutobi said.

"Of course Hokage sama. But I'd like to have some time to settle down and then prepare for the exam." Sakura replied.

"You may leave now. May your stay in Konoha be pleasant." His eyes left hers to scan the reports on his table.

Sakura turned around and left the room. When the door closed behind her, Sakura left a breath she didn't know was not holding.

 _'Phew! That went better that she thought.'_

She made her way to the Sasaki Residence, which she knew must have been unoccupied for almost an year.

 _Inside the Hokage tower._

"You let her go. Just like that?!" Minato asked Sarutobi, confusion clear in her voice.

"Well, her story was believable, was it not Minato-kun?" Sarutobi replied.

"But for all we know she could be a spy." Minato countered.

"Well, that's why I have you here. Keep an eye on her for a month. Make sure she doesn't get suspicious." Sarutobi replied.

 _A week later..._

Sakura had finally settled into the life in her 'new' Konoha. Today was the day when she would be attending her 'medic' test so that she'd able to work in the hospital. She wondered how the exam would be. Would Tsunade be here? Sakura had no idea how to face her mentor, who had become like a mother figure to her. Sakura belatedly noticed that she had bumped into someone.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to... " She quickly bowed down and noticed that she had bumped into Rin Nohara. Sakura realised that Rin's grocery bag had fell over.

"Here, let me pick those up for you." Sakura started picking up the vegetables.

"It's alright um... I don't mean to be rude. But I haven't seen you around here. What's your name?" Rin asked with a smile on her face.

"I'm Hana. I'm new here." Sakura replied.

"I'm Rin." They shook hands.

"See you around then. I have an appointment in the hospital now. Gotta go." Sakura started to leave.

"Bye. See you around." Rin replied and turned around.

Sakura made her way to the hospital.

The test had two parts. A written part which Sakura aced and a practical part where she was asked to heal a small wound. Sakura held back a bit so that no one would get suspicious. And so, she cleared her exam and became a chunnin medic. She could now work in the hospital.

 _Two weeks later._

It was a normal day. Sakura was attending to the small wounds and injuries of the civilians. As a 3rd level medic that was her duties. Unless in emergency cases, she was not expected to attend to any shinobi patients. The day dragged on and till now she hadn't received any patients.

 _Too silent._ Sakura thought. She wondered if this was the silence before a storm. And she was right.

Screams erupted in the hallway in seconds.

"Take both of them to the emergency room. Get all the medics to attend to the rest of them." Sakura heard the Head Medic Hiashi ordering.

She ran out to see what's happening. She saw two bodies covered in blood being moved to the emergency room. She couldn't make out the details except that they both had black hair.

 _'Uchihas?'_ She wondered.

Her question was answered soon enough when she saw Rin standing outside the emergency room with tear filled eyes.

"Hey. What happened?" Sakura asked her.

"My teammate... He's inside.." Rin managed to say between her sobs.

Sakura knew it was not wise to ask her for further information in these situations.

"Are the wounds very serious?" She couldn't help but ask. She had to go in if they were too serious. From what she had seen the medics here weren't good enough to handle anything too complicated.

"I heard them saying that the chances of him making it out alive is very slim." Rin answered. And with that she started crying.

She had to go in. Maybe she could help.

"Hana, you're needed here." Another medic called her from the next room. Of course, that's where she was supposed to go. That's where all the other victims with minor injuries were taken to. She had to make a choice.

"But, I was called into the emergency room." Sakura said, hoping that she won't be caught.

"Oh.. Then it's fine." The other medic replied.

Sakura let out a long sigh and went inside. She hoped no one noticed.

But Rin had.

Sakura went inside and soon realised that the medics had stopped attending to Obito's wounds.

"What happened to him?" She pointed to Obit's blood covered body and asked.

"It's a lost cause Hana. He's way too injured. We can't help him." She replied and returned to attending to the other patient.

"But there's a chance that he'll live. Can't you see? There are people outside waiting to hear that he's alive. You can't leave him like this." Sakura shouted at them. She never thought that the system here was so bad. Tsunade had always taught her to fight till last breath for a patient. Here they were leaving a patient to die, when he was still breathing.

"Well, that's how things work here, Sasaki. You'll learn." They ignored her.

Sakura was now steaming with temper. She went to Obito's side. She assessed his situation. There was still a chance that he'll live. But she needed help. She wouldn't be able to do it alone.

"I think there's a chance that he'll live. I can heal him. But I need help." Sakura said.

"You think you're smarter than me, Sasaki? You've been here for what, a week? He's a lost cause. We're not wasting out manpower to help him. There are more pressing matters at hand now. We need to save at least this one." The Head Medic replied. And she returned to her work.

Sakura knew just who'd help her.

"Rin. Please come inside. I need your help." She shouted. The door opened and Rin came running inside.

"Hana-san, what happened to him. Will he make it out alive?" Rin was on the brink of tears.

"Rin, don't cry. You have to help me now. We can save him." Sakura said.

Something about Hana told Rin that she could trust this woman.

Hana's hands started glowing green. She started to heal the injuries near the heart.

"Rin, while I heal this would, I want you to clean the next would and check for any poisons. After that start healing the wound." Sakura said, concentrating on the major wound.

Obito had lost too much blood. Sakura knew she had to heal the wound as fast as possible, before the boy loses any more blood.

Sakura was still working on the major wound. She was also losing too much chakra, but was not reaching anywhere. It was a really deep wound, dangerously close to his heart. If she could heal this wound, then the chances of Obito being alive would increase tenfold.

Sakura pumped more chakra into his body. Moulding it and directing into the damaged cells. The cells were regenerating. The wound was almost closed now. She pumped more chakra. A bit more and he'll live. Yes, she was almost there. Darkness covered her eyes. She thought she heard Rin screaming.

 _Hana-san! Look. His breathing is back to normal!_

Rin was jumping with happiness on saving Obito that she didn't notice Hana fainting. She ran to Hana as she fell to the floor.

"Hana-san!" She screamed.

By then the medics, had realised, to their surprise that Obito was healed.


	7. Rin's Choice

**Rin's Choice**

Rin was now sitting in one of the Hospital rooms, besides an unconscious Hana. After fainting from Chakra exhaustion, Hana was quickly moved to another room and was injected with a glucose supplement so that she would recover quickly. Rin couldn't help but admire the woman for the courage and compassion she had shown. She wished someday she would grow up to be like this girl.

Sakura woke up to the sound of something shifting besides her. She quickly moved her hands to take the kunai which she usually kept under her pillow.

"Hana-san, you're awake!" Rin exclaimed.

Sakura opened her eyes. The light was painful at first and it took her a while to get adjusted to the bright rubbed her eyes a few times. Then the hospital room came to view.

"What happened?" Sakura was confused. How the hell did she end up in a hospital room?

"Oh. You passed out after healing Obito. Chakra exhaustion." Rin told her.

"And thanks for saving my teammate. He wouldn't have made it alive without you." Sakura could see the happiness and the sincerity in her eyes.

"Oh. How's Ob.. your teammate?" Oops. That would have been a close call.

"He's out of immediate danger. The head medic told me that it will take his a few more days to recover completely." She replied.

It was then that Rin noticed that one of Hana's eyes were emerald green.

"Your eye... !" She pointed at Hana's left eye.

"What?" Sakura realised to her horror that one of the lenses had got stuck to her fingers while she rubbed her eyes before.

 _Shit! She was so stupid! Now, how is she supposed to explain this to Rin?!_

She quickly wore the lens and tried to act natural, like she hadn't just made a really huge idiotic mistake.

 _Was she really a jonin of the Leaf Village? How could she be so careless!_

She hoped with all her heart that Rin wouldn't get suspicious or report it to anyone.

Rin, was not a genius. Nope, she was just an average student in her academy days, an average civilian girl with a dream of being a medical ninja.

But that didn't mean that she was stupid enough to not make a connection between Hana and the mysterious lady who came to rescue her team during their Kannabi bridge mission.

They both had that same aura about them. That aura of courage, confidence and compassion. The way they both worked with wounds were also similar. Nope, not just similar, they had exactly the same green medical chakra. And those eyes she was hiding, they were the same emerald.

She wouldn't forget those eyes. That was what caused her to make the connection in the first place. But Hana had already placed the lens back in her eyes. They were just ordinary brown eyes to anyone else. But Rin knew that this woman had emerald green eyes.

"You're that same woman who came to rescue me during war. Aren't you?" Rin aked her, voice only as loud as a whisper.

Sakura froze. She knew there was no going back now. Even if she denied all her accusations, Rin would definitely voice her findings to her team members and it would all become a huge mess. But if she could somehow convince Rin to keep it a secret...

"Yes!" Sakura whispered, hoping that Rin wouldn't just run out of the room and scream it out to the world.

"Why are you hiding?" Rin asked, keeping her voice as low.

Now is her chance to convince Rin.

"Sometimes you'll have to do difficult things so that you could make life better for your loved ones. I mean no harm to Konoha, Rin. It's my village. I swear with my life that I would never go against anything that Konoha stands for. I stand with my people, no matter what. It's just that I don't have an answer for so many questions that I'll be asked if I'm found. I wish you'll keep it as a secret, Rin. But I won't do anything even if you don't."

Rin remained silent. She was really confused now. She was planning to run to Minato sensei and tell him that this was the woman who saved them that day. But, Haha didn't want her to tell. Of course, if the truth came out, then definitely Hana, would be questioned.

"But who are you?" Rin asked.

"I can't reveal that to you. Not yet." She said.

Rin knew she was supposed to report this to the Hokage. But she didn't want this woman to be questioned. She had done only good to them till now. She had saved Obito's life, twice. How could she not keep this woman's secret?! She owed her that much. She was Obito's medic. She was supposed to keep him safe. But this woman comes to save him when the only thing she could ever do watch her do miracles.

"I'm not giving any promises Hana-san. But I'll try to keep it between us." Rin replied with a weak voice.

Sakura could clearly see the doubt in Rin's eyes. She was placing a heavy burden on her. Sooner or later, Rin would report it to her sensei or even worse, the Hokage. Well. She'll deal with it then. After all, being a shinobi, she should be prepared for the unexpected.

"And one more thing Rin, if anyone asks, we both saved Obito's life together. You did a great job." Sakura gave an appreciative smile.

"But... you're one who guided me Hana-san. I didn't do anything much. You deserve the credit. Those medics are never gonna say that they left Obito to die. They'll take all the credit, if I don't say otherwise." Rin protested.

"It's fine that way Rin. The feeling of having been able to help is enough for me. I don't seek acknowledgement." Sakura replied.

"If everyone was like you..." Rin couldn't finish her sentence as Minato chose to enter the room at the same moment.

"I heard you helped in healing Obito. I came to express my gratitude. You should be more careful next time. Don't exhaust yourselves. You could've told them that you were out of chakra, you know? They'll let you rest." Minato gave her a sincere smile.

Sakura could see that the story had already been twisted and modified to give maximum credit to the head medic. But she was thankful for that. Now, she didn't have to answer any of their questions.

"Oh. It's no problem. I did what I could to help. I think I just got carried away. Well, I'm happy to know that he is going to be fine." Sakura replied, hoping that Minato would just take her reply and leave her alone. She had no intention of being in his scrutinizing gaze any longer. She felt like he could just see through her.

"How rude of me? I didn't even introduce myself. I'm Namikaze Minato. Obito's team leader." Minato introduced himself.

It was hard for Sakura to not notice the similarities between him and Naruto. They both had the same bright blond hair, but Minato's was a bit longer. Those deep blue eyes, were just like Naruto's. If one could just remove whose whisker marks from Naruto's face, then he'd look just like Minato. Just like his father.

"I'm Sasaki Hana. It's nice to meet you Namikaze-san." Sakura replied.

"Well, see you around then. And Rin, we won't be having training for a few days until Obito gets better." And Minato disappeared in a flash.

Sakura's eyes widened a bit. Though she had heard a lot about Konoha's Yellow flash, it was her first time seeing his jutsu.

"Everyone's like that when they see his jutsu in action for the first time." Rin explained.

"Yea well, you can't blame them for their reaction, you know!" Sakura replied.

"Yea. Hana-san, I wanted to ask you something." Rin stopped. Hesitation clear in her voice.

"Go ahead Rin." She said.

"Will you teach me medical nin jutsu?" Rin looked at her expectantly.

Sakura couldn't just say no when she asked like that.

"You know it already Rin" Sakura asked her.

"I know only very little. As you saw today it was of no use. I need to learn more if I want to protect my team. I want to learn how to fight like you too. Because I always end up as a burden. Obito and Kakashi will always have to look out for me. I don't want to stand in their shadows." Rin said.

Sakura was shocked. It was almost exactly how she felt. She wouldn't say no to Rin. May be what she teaches her could just save a life one day.

"Then it's a deal Rin. I'll teach you. But you should try to keep it a secret that you're learning from me, ok?" Sakura asked. She knew she couldn't make Rin promise secrecy. That was not the way of a Konoha Shinobi. She'd be making Rin disobey the rules by making her promise.

"Thanks Hana-san. I'll try to keep it a secret." Rin said.

"I'd advise you to go to the library and get these books. Start today itself. We'll meet up after I get a bit better." Sakura took a paper and pen from the nearby table and wrote the name of the books.

Rin took the list and was about to leave the room when Sakura spoke again.

"Rin wait, I forgot to ask you something. How did you team mate end up injured so badl?y" Sakura was really curious as to what caused such a huge injury.

"I don't know the details Hana-san. But I heard that someone tried to kidnap Obito while he was training with Daisuke Uchiha in the Uchiha compound. The enemy was very strong. They couldn't capture him, even with the help of a few other Uchihas who were there at the time. They say that he nearly got Obito before Fugaku-san jumped in to rescue him. But sadly, Daisuke Uchiha was kidnapped. They've sent search parties for him." Rin said.

"Thanks, Rin." And Rin left.

 _Who could be that strong enough to kidnap an Uchiha from the Uchiha compound._

Then it struck her.

Madara Uchiha!


	8. A Message for the Hokage

**A Message for the Hokage**

A week had passed away after Obito's second encounter with death. A week since Sakura's discovery of who had actually kidnapped Daisuke Uchiha.

She had to somehow get this message to the Hokage. Somehow inform him that Madara Uchiha was still alive and planning the destruction of Konoha. But she couldn't just directly go and tell him. She had to find some other means. She could write in a scroll and seal it so that it could be opened only by the Hokage. And then she could keep it somewhere, where it was bound to be found by the Hokage.

Simple. Or maybe not. She needed the Hokage's blood for that? She couldn't just barge in and ask ' _Hey old man, can I get a drop of you blood?'_

Hey! That sounded weird. It was out of the question. She had to find another way. Anyway she'll have to get going now. She promised Rin she would teach her how to regenerate nerve cells today.

She had been teaching Rin for a few days now. So far, she'd been teaching Rin the basics, which she already knew, but they were not polished. Sometimes, Rin would use too much chakra to heal a simple wound, leaving herself chakra depleted. That was not good. A medic nin should be efficient; using the minimal amount of chakra to heal, so that they can be battle ready as well.

They would usually meet up in Training grounds 9, which were usually not occupied, considering the fact that it was small, and not well maintained. But it was a perfect place for them. The chances of being spotted were minimal.

When Sakura reached the training grounds, Rin was already waiting for her.

"Good evening, Rin. How was your day?" Sakura asked.

"Today was awesome! We finally managed to beat Minato sensei! He said our teamwork is improving very much. And guess what? I healed Minato sensei's wound perfectly today using minimal chakra as you taught." Rin was beaming with happiness.

"That's good, Rin. From now on, whenever you heal I want you to use minimal chakra. And why do you have blood all over your sleeves?" Sakura asked.

"Well, Obito and Kakashi came up with some jutsu to attack sensei. Sensei was not expecting it. So he got hit in his knees. It was a small wound, but you know, due to the wound position, there was lots of blood." Rin replied.

 _Blood! Minato's blood! She could send the message to Minato. He was extremely loyal to the Hokage. And even the future Hokage candidate._

"Hana-san, what are you teaching me today?" Rin asked, bringing Sakura back from her thoughts.

"Well, today I'll teach you how to regenerate and heal nerve cells." Sakura replied and soon they entered into their lesson, where Rin being a very curious and motivated student, tried to absorb everything that Hana said.

But of course, it was not her fault, that she didn't realise it when Sakura, _accidentally_ tore a bit of Rin's shirt sleeves, while all she was doing was making a small wound so that she could give Rin a small demonstration.

And after the demonstration, the class was over and Sakura hurriedly went to her apartment.

She took a parchment and began writing. She considered coding it, but thought against it since she was giving the message to Minato who was probably strong enough to make sure that no one else read it.

 _'Madara Uchiha is alive and plotting revenge. Beware.'_

Nope. She scratched it. It sounded more like threat than a message from a well wisher. How could she make sure that they'll understand that the messenger wishes the good of the village? She had never sent any anonymous messages in her lifetime. But being the Hokage's apprentice, she had come across Shishou discussing about such letters, which sometimes gave crucial information, but were at times fake, or even at times, misleading.

 _'Madara Uchiha is alive. Revenge burns the mind of the traitor. May the will of fire never die out.'_

Well, that sounded warmer. She quickly sliced off the rest of the paper with her chakra scalpel and kept it aside.

She took another parchment and started drawing the kanji for the sealing. After completing it, she took the tube containing Minato's blood, which she had, with very difficulty extracted from the piece of cloth and had added anti-coagulant to keep from clotting. She added it drop by drop at the centre of the kanji pattern. Then, she carefully moulded her chakra into the parchment, directing the pattern into the first parchment, from which the letters began to disappear slowly until it was a blank paper.

She then folded it to a scroll. She took a strand of purple and red twine, twisted them together and tied the scroll with it. She had heard during the war that purple symbolised secrecy and red symbolised caution. That's how important messages were sent. Less important ones had purple and yellow.

Now she just had to keep it in a place where it would be found by Minato. She had the perfect idea. Rin had told her that their team trains in grounds 3 every morning at 7. If Minato's cute little team gets their hands on it, they'll definitely gets report it to their sensei. At least Kakashi will have enough sense to do it.

 _Training Grounds 3_

"Ne, Kakashi, what should we do today?" Sakura heard Obito asking Kakshi.

She was currently hiding in behind a tree, a safe distance away from the team, and had hid her chakra perfectly. She had to make sure that the scroll was found.

"Well, since Minato sensei will take an hour to come, we can do stamina training." Kakashi said and she heard Rin agreeing.

Sakura had learned from Rin yesterday that Minato would come only an hour later. But still Sakura was a bit nervous. If he comes, there's a chance that she'll be discovered. She hoped that they'll find the scroll as soon as possible. She had kept in behind a bush which was just a few centimetres from where Kakashi was now standing.

"Let's spar. Three way spar." Obito suggested.

"Did you hit you head or something during that attack. Because you're actually coming up with not-so-idiotic ideas." Kakashi commented.

"You! Temme!" Obito shouted at him.

"Well, lets'start."

And with that the three stated their spar, aiming and kicking punches at the other two. Kakashi managed to land a kick on Obito's knees in less than a minute, causing Obito to lose balance and fall.

"Ouch!"

"HEYY!Look what I found?!" Rin and Kakashi turned towards Obito, the spar forgotten.

Kakashi noticed a sudden flare in chakra in the forest behind them, but dismissed it to check what Obito had gotten himself into this time.

"It's a scroll. Why would someone leave something like that out here?" Rin asked with confusion.

"Unless, they wanted us to find it." Came Kakashi's logic.

"Well, what a weird colour combination for a tie. Why couldn't they just tie it with some plain white ribbon?" Obito questioned, turning the scroll over in his hand.

"It probably has some significance. I've read that colours are used to convey the importance of scrolls. But I don't know the details." Rin informed.

"Let's open it." Obito was about to open it when Kakashi caught his hand and stopped him.

"Don't. For all we know it could be the trigger for a dangerous jutsu. We should give to Minato-sensei." Kakashi said.

 _A few minutes later..._

Minato was clearly surprised and curious when he came to the training grounds. His three students were sitting in what appeared to be a small circle and were staring at something. He could see curiosity in Obito's eyes. Kakashi looked like he was expecting whatever he was staring at to jump and attack him anytime. Rin's back was against him, so he couldn't see her expression.

"Well, what are my cute students staring at which such intentional look on their faces." He asked as he made his way towards his team.

"Obito found this lying behind the bush while we were training." Kakashi said raising the scroll towards him.

Minato's trained eyes landed on the paper. The colour combination was obvious. It was an important secret message. He took it from his students. This was serious. He had to report it to the Hokage.

"Did you notice anything strange in the grounds while you were here?" Minato asked, his tone serious.

"Isn't the scroll strange enough?" Obito asked.

"I think I sensed a flicker of chakra a second after we found the scroll. But I hadn't sensed it when I came. Nor after that." Kakashi said.

So whoever kept the scroll here waited to make sure that it was found. The flicker must've been due to a transportation jutsu.

"I should take this to the Hokage. You can continue your training. Summon me if anything unusual happens." With that Minato disappeared in a flash.

 _Inside the Hokage's Office._

"So, shouldn't we open it?" Minato asks the Third after narrating the whole incident of how he came across the scroll.

"Yes, of course. Be prepared for anything." The Hokage advices his soon to be successor. Of course, he hadn't informed Minato of that yet.

Minato keeps it on the Hokage's table and unties the thread. He opens it.

Nothing. Just a blank paper!

"I was expecting this. If it does contain a message, then you need blood to activate it." Sarutobi says.

Minato watches as Sarutobi bites his pointing finger just enough to cause a small wound and touch the paper. Two drops of blood falls on the paper. The blood vanishes into the paper.

Nothing!

"Then, do you think this was just someone's idea of a prank?" Minato was clearly confused.

"Not yet. Try your blood." Sarutobi instructs.

As Minato's blood falls on the paper, they could only stare in shock as the writing came into view. A heavy silence fell in the room.


End file.
